Spira
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Spira (スピラ Supira) is the world in which the stories of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 take place. It is composed of one continent and several islands. Spira consists of many diverse climates: the tropical seaside islands of Besaid and Kilika, the temperate locales in the Mi'ihen and Mushroom Rock regions, the polar extremes of Macalania and Mt. Gagazet, and the arid desert of Bikanel.
In the English localization, Spira is pronounced [ˈspɪ.ɹə].
[edit] Map
[edit] Culture
The modern Spira is quite different from the one which saw the Millennium War. Machina, once abundant, is shunned by Bevelle's edicts, and only the outcast race of the Al Bhed tries to regain some of the lost knowledge. From a probably relatively common kind of magical fighters, summoners have become a sort of special caste of their own: help and privileges are granted to them during their pilgrimage in exchange for their coming sacrifice against Sin. Yevon dominates every aspect of Spiran life, spreading their teachings and pretending to be the benevolent rulers of a much diminished world - a world where only a few million people live and virtually any kind of technological and social progress has been asleep for 1000 years. Yet beneath the surface unity of Spiran mainland, distrust and old anger still boils deep: one has to wonder if the various warring factions wouldn't have blown each other to smithereens without Sin's dreadfully pacifying presence. Only Blitzball truly unites the whole world around a common passion, the sport which survived Sin's coming and which holds annual tournaments in Luca's stadium, oddly left untouched by Sin's wrath.
[edit] History
One thousand years ago, Spira was a world full of technology and machines, dubbed machina (MAH-ki-nah). Two city-states, the machina-heavy Bevelle and the summoner magic city of Zanarkand, were at war with each other. For clarity's sake, we will divide Spira's calendar into two periods: before the eternal calm (BEC) and afterward (AEC). Following this notation, FFX takes place in the year 1 BEC and the Bevelle/Zanarkand war takes place in year 1,000 BEC.
[edit] Before Sin
[edit] Defeating Sin for the first time: The First Calm
On the eve of Zanarkand's destruction, Yunalesca, Yu Yevon's own daughter, herself a very skilled summoner, managed to escape the doomed city with her husband, Zaon. After Sin's appearance, she and her husband travelled to Zanarkand, where she turned Zaon into a particularly powerful fayth, dubbed a Final Aeon, and defeated Sin for the first time. However, at the moment Sin's shell was cracked, a purely instinct-driven Yu Yevon took control of Zaon's Aeon, forcefully severing the mental link between Zaon and Yunalesca, killing his daughter in the process. With Sin's defeat, a short period of peace settled on Spira. Unfortunately, within a couple of months, an instinct-driven Yu Yevon was able to regenerate a new Sin using Zaon's Aeon as a core, and Spira's plight began anew. The intermission during which Sin is being regenerated will further be known as "The First Calm."
[edit] The Second Calm
Bound by her promises towards both her father and Bevelle, Yunalesca remains in Zanarkand as an unsent. It is assumed that she crafted a deal with Bevelle: in exchange for all people honoring the memory of her father, she would ensure an immunity to Bevelle against Sin's rampage, and show Spirans a way to defeat Sin. During the following decades, Bevelle's leadership slowly changes into a religious organization whose central figure is "Yevon," a benevolent teacher who tells Spirans ways to atone for their faults and reliance on machina, which supposedly has brought Sin to their world. While Yevon slowly establishes its hold over most of Spira, summoners from all around gather and try to vanquish Sin, with little success. Finally, after more than 600 years, a summoner named Gandof is able to defeat Sin for the second time, thus creating the "Gandof's Calm." However, Gandof suffers the same fate as Yunalesca: Yevon takes over his guardian's Aeon, severing the link between both of them and killing the High Summoner in the process. As before, this calm is very short-lived, and Yu Yevon soon rebuilds Sin which restarts its mayhem.
[edit] The High Summoner's Pilgrimage
Gandof's success at defeating Sin was a major accomplishment, even though the Calm lasted less than a year. Given the length of Sin's unchecked rampage, any brief respite and any victory gives Spirans hope of overcoming the beast one day. Gandof's path sets the measure of the accomplishment and probably finished the shaping of the pilgrimage as it is known in modern Spira. After his death, Gandof was named "High Summoner," a title which will from then on be bestowed posthumously on all who have defeated Sin. Statues of Gandof were built and put in all Spira's temples and his story is told to all Spirans as an example of honor and sacrifice to be followed. To defeat Sin, High Summoner candidates, known only as "Summoners," journey through a series of Yevon temples, gathering powerful Aeons at each temple in preparation for obtaining the Final Aeon in Zanarkand.
[edit] The Other Calms
170 years after Gandof's Calm, a former Kilikan blitzball star, Ohalland, manages to equal Yunalesca's and Gandof's feat and defeat Sin - only to bring about a much too short Calm. 130 years later, Lady Yocun becomes the first female summoner since Yunalesca to achieve this momentous task. Finally, a mere 10 years before the game's present times, Braska, an outcast summoner and Yuna's father, brings about yet another Calm. Thus, the stage is set for Final Fantasy X's events.
[edit] Yuna's Pilgrimage
The main story for Final Fantasy X, Yuna begins her pilgrimage a few years after her father Braska defeated Sin. After acquiring the aeon Valefor, Yuna leaves her home of Besaid and along with her guardians Wakka; Lulu; Kimahri; and Tidus (a young Blitzball star that was torn away from his home of Zanarkand) continues straight to Kilika, then to Luca. During her travels, Yuna becomes good friends with Tidus, even asking him to be her guardian, which he accepts. Tidus tells her much about Zanarkand and his father Jecht, who was one of Braska's friends and guardians. He even teaches her how to whistle. But the pilgrimage is really meant for sacrificing a guardian, and turning them into an aeon, the Final Aeon, which would not only defeat Sin, but will also kill the summoner as well. When Yuna and her guardians realized this, they decided to fight against the savage tradition, and defeat Sin another way. The group soon decided to destroy Sin from within. Yuna and her friends did defeat Sin but at a terrible price. Tidus was a dream made by the Fayth, and when Sin was truly defeated, the Fayth's dream would end, and Tidus would vanish.
[edit] Eternal Calm
The time frame in which Final Fantasy X-2 occurs is the period of time beginning with Sin's final defeat and, presumably, all time following. It has been dubbed the Eternal Calm; where all other Calms lasted only a short amount of time, this one will presumably last forever.
The people of Spira, free from the terror of Sin, have started to loosen up. However, after following the teachings of Yevon for so long, many people have lost direction. Because of this, old followers of Yevon created New Yevon, to help guide people to do the right thing. Believing that this would only drive Spira back to how it was, the Youth League was created, as an alternative to New Yevon. However, due to some hot-headed actions from the Youth League, the two organizations began fighting.
Sphere Hunters, people who travel Spira, looking for spheres about Spira's past, were created. In Final Fantasy X-2, two main groups were shown: the Gullwings, comprised mostly of Al Bhed, but also including High Summoner Yuna, and the LeBlanc Syndicate, which is a more varied group, but is mostly made up of rogue Al Bhed and Crusaders who were believed to be dead. There were other groups, though, of various ages and races, as evident by the Kinderguardians.
By the end of Final Fantasy X-2, both New Yevon and the Youth League are, slowly, disbanding, to help fully unite Spira.
[edit] Locations
The following are the various locales of Spira in the rough order of which Yuna visited them during her pilgrimage, as seen in Final Fantasy X.
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[edit] Besaid
A small tropical island on the southernmost end of Spira, Besaid is the home of Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Vidina. Besaid is also home to the Blitzball team Besaid Aurochs.
[edit] Kilika
A medium-sized island north of Besaid and just south of Luca, Kilika is home to the blitzball team Kilika Beasts.
[edit] Luca
Luca is the second largest city in Spira, home of the Blitzball team Luca Goers. It also houses the only blitzball stadium in Spira. Because of this, the Crusaders, a group organized to protect the people of Spira from Sin, fought to the death in order to protect it.
[edit] Mi'ihen Highroad
The Mi'ihen Highroad links the city of Luca to Mushroom Rock Road. It is also the road that Lord Mi'ihen, creator of the Crusaders (initially known as "the Crimson Blades"), walked on to face a trial of Yevon.
[edit] Mushroom Rock
Mushroom Rock is notable chiefly for its mushroom-shaped rock formations and as the site of the ill-fated Operation Mi'ihen, where the Crusaders and the Al Bhed tried — and failed — to defeat Sin by using ancient machina.
[edit] Djose
There is not much of interest in Djose, with the notable exception of its temple, which housed the fayth for the aeon Ixion during Sin's millennium of terror. Once the Eternal Calm began, the temple was abandoned, and the Machine Faction set up their headquarters there.
[edit] Moonflow
The Moonflow is a large river running through the heart of Spira. It is notable for shoopuf rides and for the pyreflies that congregate around the surface of the water, as well as the semi-entertaining productions by Chief Tobli and his troupe of Hypello performers.
[edit] Guadosalam
Guadosalam is home of the Guado and the location of a gateway to the Farplane. Prior to the Eternal Calm, most summoners only made a short stop here to pay respects to their fallen while on their pilgrimage to the Zanarkand Ruins.
[edit] Farplane
The Farplane is the final resting place for the people of Spira. Summoners send the souls of the dead to the Farplane using a ritual dance called the Sending. A gateway to the Farplane, through which the living may travel back and forth, is located in Guadosalam, where the Guado look after the Farplane.
[edit] Thunder Plains
The Thunder Plains are the site of a vast, never-ending thunderstorm. Many travelers met their end here, until an Al Bhed by the name of "Bilghen" set up lightning rod towers to draw the lightning away from the main path. Ironically, he died after being hit by a stray bolt.
[edit] Macalania
Perhaps the most striking location in all of Spira, Macalania was a large sparkling blue forest, full of glowing crystal formations and shining skyways. Eventually, the forest led out into an icy lake, which was the location of Macalania Temple.
[edit] Bikanel
A large desert island far to the west of Spira's mainland, Bikanel was the location of the Al Bhed's home until it was attacked by the Guado.
[edit] Bevelle
The largest city in Spira and center of the Order of Yevon prior to the coming of the Eternal Calm. Bevelle is also the birthplace of Yuna, and her technical "hometown" before being moved to Besaid at the request of her late father, Braska, following his bringing of the Calm.
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[edit] Calm Lands
The Calm Lands are the location where Bevelle and Zanarkand fought their most brutal and destructive battle, some 1,000 years before the events of Final Fantasy X.
[edit] Cavern of the Stolen Fayth
The Cavern of the Stolen Fayth is a large cave located between the Calm Lands and Mount Gagazet. It is on the other side of the scar, a large gorge made by Sin after Lord Gandof struck it down. The cave was home to the fayth of the aeon Yojimbo.
[edit] Remiem Temple
Remiem is a forgotten Temple of Spira. The entrance from the Calm Lands was cut off during one of the battles with Sin and has not been visited for several generations. It is the home of the Magus Sisters fayth.
[edit] Mt. Gagazet
The highest point in Spira, Mount Gagazet is home to the Ronso tribe as well as the fayth of Dream Zanarkand.
[edit] Zanarkand Ruins
The Zanarkand Ruins are the desiccated remains of the once great machina city, Zanarkand. A war between Bevelle and Zanarkand 1,000 years before Final Fantasy X contributed to the latter's downfall. Once active and full of life, it was left dark, home only to pyreflies and fiends.
[edit] Dream Zanarkand
A magical city summoned by Yu Yevon, the ruler of the original city of Zanarkand. The inhabitants of Dream Zanarkand are also summoners, though they use little to no magic. Blitzball is popular in the city, with both Tidus and Jecht being stars of the Zanarkand Abes blitzball team. At the end of Final Fantasy X, the pyreflies composing the city and its inhabitants — including Tidus — dissipate once Yu Yevon has been defeated.
[edit] Baaj Temple
Baaj Temple is the location where Tidus first awakened after being displaced from Dream Zanarkand. Here, he nearly lost his life to the fish fiend Geosgaeno, and also met Rikku for the first time.
[edit] Omega Ruins
Long ago, a Yevonite heretic named "Omega" was banished to these ruins by the maesters of Yevon and executed. After his death, his hatred turned his unsent soul into a horrifying fiend of great strength — Omega Weapon (and, because the hatred was overflowing, another fiend called Ultima Weapon also manifested).
[edit] Gagazet Ruins
The Gagazet Ruins is a mysterious temple atop Mt. Gagazet that cannot be seen in Final Fantasy X. After the fayth awoke at the coming of the Eternal Calm, the mists on top of the mountain dissipated enough to display a new set of ruins. During Final Fantasy X-2, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine find a one thousand year old sphere from Zanarkand's time here.
